In March, defense contractors were sued
by the widow of award-winning Air Force pilot Capt. Jeff Haney, who
died in a crash in the Alaska wilderness in November 2010, after the
oxygen system in his F-22 Raptor malfunctioned during a training flight
from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Anna Haney named Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co., Honeywell and Pratt
& Whitney, the jet's primary contractors, in the suit. She claimed
Lockheed knowingly sold the U.S. Air Force "dangerous and defective"
planes.
This week, a settlement has been reached between Haney and the named parties, the Air Force Times
reports. The amount of the settlement is unknown. A record of the
proceedings has been sealed, and John Gagliano, Haney’s attorney, could
not provide any details, although he did confirm that a settlement was
reached.
The F-22 Raptor has been criticized over ongoing concerns
that the plane’s oxygen system causes pilots to experience symptoms of
hypoxia, a form of oxygen deprivation, while in flight. Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta blamed the problem on a pressurized vest pilots
wear, which has in some cases inflated “before it should," making
breathing difficult. Panetta said the early inflation is due to a faulty
valve, and pilots have been ordered not to wear the vests until the
valves have been switched out.
A hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for September.
Read more, here.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com
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